Dozens rally to support Tufts Medical Center Nurses Before They Lose Their Jobs

BOSTON — Nurses at Tufts Medical Center still can’t believe the Children’s Hospital there is closing in just a few months.

Dozens of them rallied Tuesday to support the pediatric nurses who will lose their jobs.

“It’s extremely emotional, we were all very surprised by the announcement, the rug was pretty much ripped right out from underneath, nobody saw this coming,” said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, a nurse at Tufts Medical Center.

Havlicek Cornacchia says since the announcement, nurses have started to find new jobs, leaving them short staffed.

“I see access issues all the time, every shift I’m on essentially for pediatric patients to find beds and it’s going to be sad to think what happens when we’re not even an option for them,” said Tyra Dukes, a pediatric nurse at Tufts Medical Center.

She says she worries about her patients once their 41 pediatric beds go away.

“I think you’re going to have kids who are waiting in ED’s [emergency departments] way longer than they should be, I think you’re going to have children who can’t get in to see their specialist for months on end because everyone’s going to be booked up and backed up,” said Dukes.

That’s what Samantha Saperstein is worried about.

Her son Mason, who just turned two, relies on 12 specialists at Tufts.

“Petrified about longer wait times, when my son needs to be seen, it is an emergency, his airway is the biggest concern with Treacher Collins Syndrome,” said Saperstein. “We don’t have time to wait to be seen, you need to breathe.”

She says they still don’t know where Mason will find his care once Tufts closes its pediatric division.

“We’re losing nurses who have been with him since he was a month old,” said Saperstein.

A spokesperson with Tufts Medical Center says most pediatric nurses have not left the job yet and plan to keep working until the closure on July 1.

“We get calls daily from Children’s Hospital looking to place some of their patients because they don’t have space either, so closing 41 beds at a time like this just does not seem like the smart thing to do,” said Havlicek Cornacchia.

A Tufts Medical Center spokesperson released the following statement Tuesday:

“Every day, we have the honor to witness the exceptional commitment, professionalism, and passion that Tufts Children’s Hospital nurses show to our pediatric patients and their families. The decision today to honor the history of this great institution and the many children Tufts Children’s has served over the years is one we both understand and respect. While we intend to retain the Neonatal ICU and pediatric outpatient services, the closing of our other inpatient units and active treatment oncology services at Tufts Children’s Hospital was an extremely difficult decision, and we share the heartfelt emotions of our nurses and team members throughout the Medical Center.”

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